Banished Hearts
by AkRene
Summary: When a mysterious girl walks into the flower shop and slaps Howl, you can imagine what it will be like when one morning she wakes up in his castle! The T rating's just in case someone gets injured.
1. An Unexpected Meeting

Banished Hearts

This is my first fan- fiction. Please review or I won't write another word. Note, I have taken 2 facts from the book:1)Markl is a teenager and 2)Howl lived in Whales as a kid. Review if you have any questions!

The sun was high in the sky as I, Linden , walked into the flower store ,see, with what little money I had I was going to buy flowers. Three graves worth. The shop was filled with flowers such as I had no name for… I was wondering if their cost was as high as their quality when from me a silky voice said, "You need some help?" I turned around and my reply died on my lips, it was him! The man who had left my sister with a broken heart, to waste away till she died.

"No thank you, Howl.", I said icily.

"Huh?" , was his answer, "How do you know my name?"

You don't recognize me?", Said I, in that same cold tone of voice. "Then this is for Helen, my sister, whose heart you broke." Then I smacked so hard across the face that he fell to the ground. Looking down upon him, I turned on my heel and left the shop, with the eyes of many other costumers following me.

Once outside, I strode quickly into the crowd, wanting to lose myself in it. "You girl, wait!", I Heard Howl cry from behind me. But by then I was already away, off to catch a train.


	2. Into The Lion's Den

Disclaimer: Bad me, bad me! I forgot to put one on the last chapter! Don't call the police! So, Howl, Sophie, Markl, Calcifer and anyone else (Sept my characters) belongs to Diana Wynne Jones and Hayao Miyazaki. This is the only disclaimer I'll post, it lasts the entire story.

Author's note: Sorry my last chapter was so short and that I haven't updated in a while, schools still getting out and I was busy.

I arrived in Kingsbury extremely hungry, but couldn't get ay food having spent all my coin getting away from Market Chipping. It was getting late by then so I found a nice quiet doorway in a respectable tree-lined neighborhood and the next thing I knew, I was drifting away into sleep...But late in the night I had a strange dream, something about being carried...

When I awoke the next morning, I was on a couch next to a blazing fireplace. I looked around and, seeing no one said, "I wish you could tell me where I am."

To my surprise, the fire replied! "You're in Howl's kitchen, where did you expect to be after falling asleep in our doorway?"

"Howl lives here!?" I said flabbergasted, how out of all the houses in Kingsbury, did I have to choose this one!? "Nice meeting you, but I'm leaving."

"So soon?" Said a girl's voice from behind me on the stairs, "Has Calcifer driven you out already?"

"Hey!" Calcifer yelled as I turned to face the staircase, on it was a girl whose beautiful silver hair spun like starlight round her head.

"I'm Sophie." She said, "and your name is...?"

"Linden" I replied, "but..." It wasn't possible! "You live with Howl?"

"Yes, why shouldn't I?" Sophie asked with an air of someone who has heard this question a thousand times already.

"Because, well, it's Howl we're talking about here and..." I was interrupted by the sound of someone stumping down the stairs. Afraid it was Howl, I immediately shut up. It wasn't, the figure was a teenage boy who looked about 14, 15 years old, anyway, he had a mess of brownish-red hair and he looked like he had just gotten up.

"Markl," Sophie called from where she was trying to get Calcifer let her cook on him. "This is Linden, she's the girl Howl found on the doorstep last night." Markl sat down at the table and nodded sleepily before executing a huge yawn. To me she said, "I hope you'll stay here a while, you don't look as if you've slept under a roof in a while." I however didn't plan on staying here past breakfast.

For the third time that morning, my thoughts were interrupted by someone coming down the stairs, this time it was Howl. As he walked over to Sophie and gave her a quick kiss, I glowered at him from my seat in the shadows. From the fireplace Calcifer drawled, "Now that you've got that done, say good morning to your guest, who I heard, oh so charmingly slapped you silly yesterday." Howl turned my way and I ignored him supremely.

"Doesn't really seem to want to." Howl said dryly

Still ignoring him, I asked Sophie, "Anything I can do to help with breakfast?"

"Sure," She said through clenched teeth, "Help me beat Calcifer into submission." Calcifer, who had gotten a hold of the pan, suddenly let go, causing Sophie to tumble backwards into a tub of soapy water. Cackling manically he had just ducked his head down to avoid a flying sponge, when onto it I put another pan. Calcifer was so shocked at this that he actually stayed put while I cracked 8 eggs into the pan and put the shells where he could reach them.

Meanwhile, Sophie was getting out of the tub and Howl and Markl were on the floor rolling around laughing their heads off. Seeing this, Sophie picked up the tub and, unceremoniously, dumped the remaining water on their heads.

The laughter quickly changed to spluttering. The eggs cooked, everyone dried off, (Courtesy of Howl's drying powder.) and breakfast was eaten. I ate by the fire, and while everyone else was eating, surreptitiously, edged towards the door. Almost immediately I met with a wall of hardened air. Howl evidently felt this, because he twitched, sending a tremor through the wall. I backed off a step and saw Howl relax. Then I rammed the wall with all my strength and ran. At the breaking of the wall Howl fell backward off his chair, as I got to the door he attempted to say something. I didn't hesitate, just pulled the door open and ran through.

"The knob was turned to black, wasn't it?" Markl stated. Sophie nodded.

Howl looked stricken, yelled "Damn!" and ran to the door, pulling it open with the knob turned to black, and...Disappeared.


End file.
